"Until white people recognize their own ethnicity, they will continue to be trapped in a taken-for-granted world in which they think of their own ways as normative and everyone else as an aberration. They thus will have no perspective from which to tell their own story or name their cultural strengths and needs. This unreflective condition not only drains away the vitality of their congregational life, it also makes them poor partners in imagining and constructing a church that incoporates the whole human family."
Frank, Thomas Edward. "Polity, Practice and the Mission of the United Methodist Church", Abingdon, 2007 p. 96
I was reading this book as I catch up on overdue work for Dr. Crain. Don't worry Dr Crain! I'm making progress on my paper!!! And don't worry Dr. Hogue, I'm getting to your stuff too!!! ;-)
This quote caught my eye. It is a powerful reminder that white people have a heritage too. The world is not made up of us and everybody else. When we forget this it is not only a detriment to those against whom we discriminate, but it is a detriment to our story as well.
I recently had a brief and somewhat heated discussion (on Facebook) with a high school classmate who is now a UMC Elder serving a church downstate. He was displeased with ELCA's recent decision allowing homosexual people in long term relationships to be ordained. He passionately believes that homosexuality is a sin. Ergo those living unrepentantly in a condition of sin should not be ordained. This conversation unnerved me quite a bit (until I was soothed by three amazing women, thanks Elaine, Alex and Mary!) But I've still been thinking about it. Now I've come across the quotation above and I started to wonder, would the above quotation apply if we changed to language from ethnicity to sexuality? With apologies to Professor Frank, it might read something like this:
"Until -straight- people recognize their own -sexuality-, they will continue to be trapped in a taken-for-granted world in which they think of their own ways as normative and everyone else as an aberration."
I'm not sure I'm willing to say that opposition to ordination of LGBTQ people is an "unreflective condition." But I am sure that it "makes them poor partners in imagining and constructing a church that incoporates the whole human family."
Thoughts?
Rev. Joseph Lowery's Benediction ~ A Capstone
God of our weary years, God of our silent tears, thou who has brought us thus far along the way, thou who has by thy might led us into the light, keep us forever in the path, we pray, lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met thee, lest our hearts, drunk with the wine of the world, we forget thee. Shadowed beneath thy hand may we forever stand -- true to thee, O God, and true to our native land.We truly give thanks for the glorious experience we've shared this day. We pray now, O Lord, for your blessing upon thy servant, Barack Obama, the 44th president of these United States, his family and his administration. He has come to this high office at a low moment in the national and, indeed, the global fiscal climate. But because we know you got the whole world in your hand, we pray for not only our nation, but for the community of nations. Our faith does not shrink, though pressed by the flood of mortal ills.
For we know that, Lord, you're able and you're willing to work through faithful leadership to restore stability, mend our brokenness, heal our wounds and deliver us from the exploitation of the poor or the least of these and from favoritism toward the rich, the elite of these.
We thank you for the empowering of thy servant, our 44th president, to inspire our nation to believe that, yes, we can work together to achieve a more perfect union. And while we have sown the seeds of greed -- the wind of greed and corruption, and even as we reap the whirlwind of social and economic disruption, we seek forgiveness and we come in a spirit of unity and solidarity to commit our support to our president by our willingness to make sacrifices, to respect your creation, to turn to each other and not on each other.
And now, Lord, in the complex arena of human relations, help us to make choices on the side of love, not hate; on the side of inclusion, not exclusion; tolerance, not intolerance.
And as we leave this mountaintop, help us to hold on to the spirit of fellowship and the oneness of our family. Let us take that power back to our homes, our workplaces, our churches, our temples, our mosques, or wherever we seek your will.
Bless President Barack, First Lady Michelle. Look over our little, angelic Sasha and Malia.
We go now to walk together, children, pledging that we won't get weary in the difficult days ahead. We know you will not leave us alone, with your hands of power and your heart of love.
Help us then, now, Lord, to work for that day when nation shall not lift up sword against nation, when tanks will be beaten into tractors, when every man and every woman shall sit under his or her own vine and fig tree, and none shall be afraid; when justice will roll down like waters and righteousness as a mighty stream.
Lord, in the memory of all the saints who from their labors rest, and in the joy of a new beginning, we ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get back, when brown can stick around -(laughter)- when yellow will be mellow -(laughter)- when the red man can get ahead, man -(laughter)- and when white will embrace what is right.
Let all those who do justice and love mercy say amen.
AUDIENCE: Amen!
REV. LOWERY: Say amen --
AUDIENCE: Amen!
REV. LOWERY: -- and amen.
AUDIENCE: Amen! (Cheers, applause.)
END.
Transcript courtesy Federal News Service
http://blogs.suntimes.com/
http://www.youtube.com/wat
Evangelicalism.
Brett over at The Hendricksonians
did a book review that brought up a question I've though about on and off. Here are my comments about his post:
We need to come up with a better word. For most of the political left, including devout Christians, "Evangelical" has become a dirty word. This is unfortunate. Aren't, or at least shouldn't, all Christians be evangelical? Is that pretty much the job description? At the very minimum it is for us clergy types. We are called to evangelize. Just as the Pro-Life movement has claimed the linguistic high ground, (Is it possible to be anti-life?)the 'old-time religion' types have taken a very important word and used it in a very narrow way, thus giving it a connotation that excludes many of the people it should include. Can we redeem Evangelicalism? should we come up with a better word? Delwin Brown has a great book called "What does a Progressive Christian Believe" that discusses this. I'm not certain I like the word Progressive. Thoughts?
So? What do you think?
did a book review that brought up a question I've though about on and off. Here are my comments about his post:
We need to come up with a better word. For most of the political left, including devout Christians, "Evangelical" has become a dirty word. This is unfortunate. Aren't, or at least shouldn't, all Christians be evangelical? Is that pretty much the job description? At the very minimum it is for us clergy types. We are called to evangelize. Just as the Pro-Life movement has claimed the linguistic high ground, (Is it possible to be anti-life?)the 'old-time religion' types have taken a very important word and used it in a very narrow way, thus giving it a connotation that excludes many of the people it should include. Can we redeem Evangelicalism? should we come up with a better word? Delwin Brown has a great book called "What does a Progressive Christian Believe" that discusses this. I'm not certain I like the word Progressive. Thoughts?
So? What do you think?
Support Peace in the Holy Land, Urge President-elect Obama to take action
I have just added my name to an ecumenical Christian letter to President-elect Obama and am writing you to encourage you to do the same. American Christian leaders and congregants of the Catholic, Evangelical, Orthodox and Protestant traditions have joined together to pray for the peace of Jerusalem and urge President-elect Obama to make Israeli-Palestinian peace an immediate priority of his Administration.
You can support this Christian Call for Holy Land Peace by adding your name to the ecumenical letter that has been signed by Christian leaders and congregants from across the nation. Visit http://www.cmep.org/letter to sign the letter and join your fellow American Christians in supporting vigorous U.S. diplomatic efforts to secure a just and lasting two-state solution.
To view the letter and a list of the national Christian leaders signatories, and to add you name, go to http://www.cmep.org/letter.
The last day to add your name is January 16, 2009. The letter signed by national Christian leaders was sent to the Obama transition team on December 1, 2008. The final letter signed by leaders and congregants will be delivered to President Obama during the time of inauguration. Please stand with those calling for peace in Holy Land by adding your name today at http://www.cmep.org/letter.
You can support this Christian Call for Holy Land Peace by adding your name to the ecumenical letter that has been signed by Christian leaders and congregants from across the nation. Visit http://www.cmep.org/letter to sign the letter and join your fellow American Christians in supporting vigorous U.S. diplomatic efforts to secure a just and lasting two-state solution.
To view the letter and a list of the national Christian leaders signatories, and to add you name, go to http://www.cmep.org/letter.
The last day to add your name is January 16, 2009. The letter signed by national Christian leaders was sent to the Obama transition team on December 1, 2008. The final letter signed by leaders and congregants will be delivered to President Obama during the time of inauguration. Please stand with those calling for peace in Holy Land by adding your name today at http://www.cmep.org/letter.
Better Days
I'm supposed to be working on a paper, but I'm thinking about CPE, Israel hitting a school and killing children and the unbridled joy of my friends Ross and Amanda's new baby. Then this came on.
(there's)something only you can give
And that's faith and trust and peace while we're alive
And it's one poor child that saved this world
And there's 10 million more who probably could
If we all just stopped and said a prayer for them
(there's)something only you can give
And that's faith and trust and peace while we're alive
And it's one poor child that saved this world
And there's 10 million more who probably could
If we all just stopped and said a prayer for them
Rick Warren's Invocation at the Inaguration
I wrote a letter to the President elect and posted it before I had a chance to copy it for posting here. It is probably obvious what it said. I wish he would have picked someone else. Perhaps Martin Marty or even Ken Vaux, a professor at G-ETS who advised the President-elect during the election. But, he picked Rev. Warren. Here is some info I picked up from a Facebook group. I urge everyone to write to voice their disapproval. Even if you don't support gay-marriage, I think you might agree that Pastor Warren's linkage of gay marriage with incest and polygamy is a bit too extreme.
Here's the text from the Facebook page:
Divisive, homophobic Saddleback Church minister Rick Warren has been invited to give President Elect Obama's inaugural invocation.
HERE'S WHAT HE HAS TO SAY ON GAY UNIONS:
Rick Warren: But the issue to me is, I’m not opposed to that as much as I’m opposed to the redefinition of a 5,000-year definition of marriage. I’m opposed to having a brother and sister be together and call that marriage. I’m opposed to an older guy marrying a child and calling that a marriage. I’m opposed to one guy having multiple wives and calling that marriage.
Steven Waldman: Do you think, though, that they are equivalent to having gays getting married?
Rick Warren: Oh I do.
DOES THIS REPRESENT THE CHANGE YOU VOTED FOR? DOES THIS MAKE YOU FEEL LIKE YOU ARE INCLUDED IN THIS SYMBOLIC DAY OF NEW BEGINNINGS? YOU CAN TAKE ACTION RIGHT NOW:
1. CALL 202-540-3000 , press "2," speak with a live person
2. SEND a letter letting the transition team know what you think here http://change.gov/page/content/contact, and
3. EMAIL Parag Mehta, Obama's LGBT liaison on the transition team at parag.mehta@ptt.gov.
Here's the text from the Facebook page:
Divisive, homophobic Saddleback Church minister Rick Warren has been invited to give President Elect Obama's inaugural invocation.
HERE'S WHAT HE HAS TO SAY ON GAY UNIONS:
Rick Warren: But the issue to me is, I’m not opposed to that as much as I’m opposed to the redefinition of a 5,000-year definition of marriage. I’m opposed to having a brother and sister be together and call that marriage. I’m opposed to an older guy marrying a child and calling that a marriage. I’m opposed to one guy having multiple wives and calling that marriage.
Steven Waldman: Do you think, though, that they are equivalent to having gays getting married?
Rick Warren: Oh I do.
DOES THIS REPRESENT THE CHANGE YOU VOTED FOR? DOES THIS MAKE YOU FEEL LIKE YOU ARE INCLUDED IN THIS SYMBOLIC DAY OF NEW BEGINNINGS? YOU CAN TAKE ACTION RIGHT NOW:
1. CALL 202-540-3000 , press "2," speak with a live person
2. SEND a letter letting the transition team know what you think here http://change.gov/page/content/contact, and
3. EMAIL Parag Mehta, Obama's LGBT liaison on the transition team at parag.mehta@ptt.gov.
Hello readers!
I'm finishing up papers for my second to last full semester of MA studies at G-ETS. I'm pondering my future. Employment? More School? Something in between? One of my final papers is on my theology of suffering. I'll post some of it here for your reading pleasure.
In the meantime. Grace and Peace to you and enjoy this:
In the meantime. Grace and Peace to you and enjoy this:
See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die
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